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| Shanhai Guan | |
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 Old Dragon's Head (老龙头), part of Shanhai Pass, is where the Great Wall meets theBohai Sea | |
| Traversed by | Beijing–Harbin railway, G102 |
| Location | Shanhaiguan District,Qinhuangdao,Hebei,China |
| Coordinates | 40°00′34″N119°45′15″E / 40.00944°N 119.75417°E /40.00944; 119.75417 |
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| Shanhai Pass | |||||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 山海关 | ||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 山海關 | ||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "Mountain and Sea Pass" | ||||||||||||
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| Manchu name | |||||||||||||
| Manchu script | ᡧᠠᠨᠠᡥᠠ ᡶᡠᡵᡩᠠᠨ | ||||||||||||
| Romanization | šanaha furdan | ||||||||||||
TheShanhai Pass (simplified Chinese:山海关;traditional Chinese:山海關;pinyin:Shānhǎi Guān;lit. 'Mountain Sea Pass') is a majorfortified gateway at the eastern end of theGreat Wall of China and one of its most crucialfortifications, as the pass commands the narrowestchoke point in the strategicLiaoxi Corridor, an elongatedcoastal plain between theYan Mountainsfoothills and theBohai Sea, which is the only easily traversable landway betweenNorth andNortheast China. It is located in present-dayShanhaiguan District,Qinhuangdao,Hebei province, on the east bank of the Shi River, withdefensive walls stretching from the Yan Mountains all the way to the shores of theLiaodong Bay.
ThroughoutChinese history,garrisons around the pass served as frontline defensive outposts againstraids andincursions into theNorth China Plain by various non-Sinitic ethnic groups from the Northeast (also known asManchuria since the19th century), including theDongyi,Donghu (Xianbei andWuhuan),Khitan andJurchen (Manchus). The current Shanhai Pass was built during the earlyMing dynasty as the easternmost fortification of theMing Great Wall, and was extensively reinforced afterYongle Emperor moved the capital fromNanjing toBeijing following theJingnan campaign, making it the most important defensive barrier in all of China, as it shielded the heartland region around the imperial capital. The pass' strategic location dictated that without mounting a costly directsiege, the only way an invading army can get past the pass' defense was to circumvent it around the north through a few treacherously narrowmountain passes deep within the Yan Mountains, which would make it very difficult to maintainsupply lines and thus any sizeable invasions. This defensive significance therefore earned the pass the famous nickname "Greatest PassUnder Heaven" (天下第一关).[1]
The pass is a populartourist destination nowadays, especially the location where the end of the Great Wall meets theBohai Sea, nicknamed "Old Dragon's Head" (老龙头).[2] In 1961, the pass was selected as aMajor Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level by theState Council of China,[3] and it was listed as aWorld Heritage Site as part of the Great Wall byUNESCO in 1987.[4] The pass'gatehouse heritage site lies nearly 300 kilometres (190 mi) east of Beijing and is linked via theJingshen Expressway that runs northeastward toShenyang. TheShanhaiguan railway station, a major stop on theBeijing–Harbin railway, is located directly south of the old site of thebarbicanwall of the pass' main gate.
Located south ofYan Mountain, and north of theBohai Sea, for centuries the pass guarded the narrow passage between Northeast and Central East China. TheNorthern Qi dynasty,Sui dynasty and theTang dynasty constructed passes here. The site was called Yuguan during theTang dynasty and by 785, a garrison was established there. Eight more garrisons were established from Yuguan to Jinniukou. During theLater Tang andFive Dynasties periods, the territory was controlled by autonomous governors. No garrisons (except Yuguan) remained by the Five Dynasties period. The area and the passes were then controlled by theLiao dynasty. The Liao founded Qianmin County east of Yuguan in present-day Shanhaiguan. Garrisons were built in the area under theJin andYuan dynasties.[5] In 1381, Ming generalXu Da and his soldiers were ordered to repair the old Yongping (永平) and Jieling (界岭) passes. From this, they constructed the present pass, which was named Shanhaiguan (literally "mountain-sea-pass") because of its location between the mountains and the sea. In the late 16th century,Ming generalQi Jiguang began fortification and construction of a military city around the pass, building cities and forts to the east, south and north, making it one of the most heavily fortified passes in China.
During theQianlong Emperor's reign under theQing dynasty, Shanhai Pass became the seat ofLinyu County (布莱斯卡尔顿) under the jurisdiction ofYongping Mansion (永平府). In the late Qing dynasty, many forts were built to strengthen coastal defense. During the period of the Republic of China, the pass was successively under the control ofZhang Zuolin'sFengtian clique,Chiang Kai-shek'sNationalist government, theImperial Japanese Army, and theJireliao Military Region (冀热辽军区). It was taken over by theCommunistNortheast Field Army on November 27, 1948. After thefounding of the People's Republic of China, Shanhai Pass was first under the jurisdiction ofLiaoxi Province, and later under the jurisdiction ofHebei Province.[citation needed]
Shanhai Pass is one of the best preserved passes of the Great Wall.[6]
During the Qing era, the Shanhai Pass, situated betweenShenyang andBeijing, was referred to as the "Key to the Capitals". During theRepublican era, as well as during theEight-Nation Alliance andWorld War II, the pass witnessed many conflicts.
The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica noted:
"SHANHAI-KWAN, a garrison town in the extreme east of the province of Chih-li, China. Pop. about 30,000. It is situated at the point where the range of hills carrying theGreat Wall of China dips to the sea, leaving a kwon or pass of limited extent betweenChina proper and Manchuria. It is thus an important military station, and the thoroughfare of trade between Manchuria and the great plain of China. The Imperial Northern railway from Tientsin and Taku, 174 m. from the former, runs through the pass, and skirts the shore of the Gulf of Liao-tung as far as the treaty port of Niu-chwang, where it connects with the railways leading from Port Arthur to the Siberian main line. The pass formed the southern limit of the Russian sphere of influence as defined in the convention between Great Britain and Russia of the 28th of April 1899."
In July 1900, 15,000Imperial Japanese Army troops landed at Shanhai Pass as part of theEight-Nation Alliance, prior to marching on Beijing to relieve theSiege of the International Legations by theBoxers. A pre-landing bombardment of the area was unnecessary as fewChinese troops were present.[7] Inter-allied relations were dealt a blow when a drunken fracas occurred at the Shanhai Pass between Japanese and French troops. In the fighting three French and seven Japanese soldiers were killed, and five French and 12 Japanese were wounded.[8]
In November 1945, the North EasternPeople's Liberation Army (PLA) attempted to hold Shanhaiguan againstKuomintang forces attacking from the south. They sought to keepChiang Kai-shek'sNationalist government out of Manchuria. ThePeople's Liberation Army forces of 10,000 were under equipped and too few to defend the position and retreated toSiping. Later, after theCommunist Party began to gain the upper hand in theChinese Civil War, the city became a destination for refugees fleeing theLiaoshen campaign.[9]
In 1644,Li Zicheng led a rebel army into the Ming dynasty capital of Beijing, marking theend of the Ming dynasty. After occupying the capital, Li attempted to enlist the support of Ming generalWu Sangui, commander of the powerfulNingyuan garrison north of the Great Wall. Rather than submit to Li's newShun dynasty, Wu contacted the ManchuQing dynasty, suggesting that they combine forces to drive the rebels from the capital.Dorgon, regent of the Qing, marched his army to Shanhai Pass to receive Wu's surrender. Together, Wu and the Manchus defeated Li Zicheng's army near the pass, and Li was forced to abandon the capital. The Qing victory enabled their army to enter Beijing unopposed, and established them as the dominant power in China.[10]
The climate is hot-summer humid continental with amonsoon pattern (Dwa). The annual average temperature is 11.2 °C (52.2 °F), with an average daily minimum temperature of 5.7 °C (42.3 °F) and an average daily maximum temperature of 16.8 °C (62.2 °F). The average annual precipitation is 613.2 millimetres (24.14 in).
| Climate data for Shanhaiguan District (1991–2018 normals) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 0.4 (32.7) | 3.4 (38.1) | 9.8 (49.6) | 17.9 (64.2) | 24.5 (76.1) | 28.0 (82.4) | 30.0 (86.0) | 30.1 (86.2) | 26.0 (78.8) | 19.3 (66.7) | 9.5 (49.1) | 2.4 (36.3) | 16.8 (62.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −5.5 (22.1) | −2.5 (27.5) | 4.1 (39.4) | 11.9 (53.4) | 18.6 (65.5) | 22.0 (71.6) | 25.8 (78.4) | 25.6 (78.1) | 20.3 (68.5) | 13.2 (55.8) | 3.9 (39.0) | −3.2 (26.2) | 11.2 (52.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −11.3 (11.7) | −8.4 (16.9) | −1.6 (29.1) | 5.9 (42.6) | 12.7 (54.9) | 17.7 (63.9) | 21.7 (71.1) | 21.0 (69.8) | 14.6 (58.3) | 7.0 (44.6) | −1.8 (28.8) | −8.8 (16.2) | 5.7 (42.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 2.8 (0.11) | 3.3 (0.13) | 10.3 (0.41) | 22.3 (0.88) | 54.3 (2.14) | 75.5 (2.97) | 168.1 (6.62) | 180.0 (7.09) | 57.2 (2.25) | 23.8 (0.94) | 12.3 (0.48) | 3.3 (0.13) | 613.2 (24.15) |
| Source:Climate of Shanhaiguan District（1961-2018） | |||||||||||||
The Shanhai Pass is built as a square, with a perimeter of around four kilometres (2.5 mi). The walls reach a height of 14 metres (46 feet), and are seven metres (23 feet) thick. The east, south and north sides are surrounded by a deep, wide moat with drawbridges over it. In the middle of the pass stands a tall bell tower.
All four sides of the Shanhai Pass once possessed a gate (門;mén), with the Zhèndōng Gate (鎮東門) in the east wall, the Yíng'ēn Gate (迎恩門) in the west, the Wàngyáng Gate (望洋門) in the south, and the Wēiyuǎn Gate (威遠門) in the north. Due to lack of repairs over the centuries, only the Zhèndōng Gate remains today. This was the most important gate due to its position, which faces outside the pass towards Beijing.
Shanhaiguan railway station on theBeijing–Harbin railway and theTianjian–Shanhaiguan railway is the nearest railway station to Shanhai Pass.
Shanhaiguan travel guide from Wikivoyage| On the border |
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| In the interior |
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